John Alexander’s decision to step down as Dundee City Council leader has prompted a mixed reaction among readers.
We exclusively revealed on Friday that Mr Alexander – council chief since 2017 – was quitting politics to start a new job and spend more time with his family.
The SNP politician, who grew up in Kirkton, will leave his £40,000-a-year role on August 29 to take up a role with Perth-based energy firm SSEN.
On The Courier website, Ferry B wrote: “Good luck to him in the new career outside of politics.
“It must be tough reading the personal criticism on social media from keyboard warriors who don’t have a clue about what those who hold high office are expected to deal with.
“John Alexander has done well in difficult circumstances, leading Dundee City Council for seven years.
“He should be thanked for his service.”
‘Thankless role’
Watcher replied: “Service users and Dundee residents are at perfect liberty to comment on the services provided by the council.
“Mr Alexander was paid handsomely for his service – and exactly how do you know what he had to deal with?”
Writing in the comments section of our website, Tommy T said: “A thankless role where he’s abused by folk who spend all day on Facebook and in here.
“Good luck to him and his family in the future. Always seemed a decent guy.”
Stevo K added: “Not a job for the faint hearted. In fact, you would need to be off your head to get involved in politics.
“It’s a 24/7 job. As the saying goes, you can please some of the folk some of the time – you can’t please them all, all of the time.
“Only thick-skinned need apply.”
Gadabout echoed these thoughts, saying: “What would put me off a job like this in local politics is that the level of blame for things you have basically no control over often seems to be unreasonable and well above the level of reward.
“Why would talented people do this instead of a job that pays better with no abuse?”
‘Bailing out’
Mr Alexander was council leader when V&A Dundee opened in 2018 and helped bring Radio 1’s Big Weekend back to the City of Discovery.
Jock S, who insists he is not an SNP supporter, hailed him as “the best civic leader” of his lifetime.
But others highlighted some of the controversies that erupted during Mr Alexander’s reign, including the Olympia debacle.
Stuart Samson said: “The career politician can’t handle it – he has been a disaster from day one.”
Big G added: “Bailing out and leaving Dundee in a complete mess.”
But Ferry B responded: “I suspect he has made fewer missteps than other politicians would have done in his shoes.”
Olympia limbo?
In June, our columnist Steve Finan accused Mr Alexander of failing to reassure locals over flood measures at Dundee’s new £100 million ‘super-school’.
The East End Community Campus – a merger between Craigie High School and Braeview Academy – is being built on land at Drumgeith Road.
The site is a known flood risk, and concerns surfaced again when Storm Babet hit Dundee last year, with building equipment and cars submerged after the Dighty Burn burst its banks.
But a recent flood risk assessment concluded the measures built for the campus worked as intended.
One reader wrote: “He is going before the unsinkable mega school is completed.”
Others took aim at the lack of swimming provision at the school.
And on the subject of pools, Jerry48 added: “He rides off into the sunset and presumably his inquiry into the Olympia shambles goes with him.”
Conversation